SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR SCORING SYSTEM

Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates are awarded points based on entry, competition, top-10 bonus points, and voting panel points. Points are awarded based on his/her best 17 races in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action, 16 events in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, or 14 events in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Points during competition are awarded based on the following:

* Attempting to qualify for a race earns the rookies one (1) bonus point.

* A 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point system is used for scoring finishing positions. The highest-finishing rookie in each race earns 10 points, the second-highest, nine points, etc.

* Bonus points are awarded for a finish in the top 10. A rookie who wins a race is awarded 10 points, second place gets nine points and so on down the line with a tenth place finish earning one point.

In addition to the above, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year panel will meet during the final weekend of the season and reward favorable conduct in the following categories: conduct with NASCAR officials; conduct and awareness on track; personal appearances and relationship with the media. The panel rates each driver on a scale of 10 to one with 10 being the maximum. The points will then be averaged and added to the entry, competition, and bonus points after the final race.

The scoring system to determine the Rookie of the Year varies from NASCAR'S point system for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. The following is a breakdown of the Rookie of the Year scoring system:

" A 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point system is used for scoring finishing positions by the rookies. The highest-finishing rookie in each race earns 10 points, the second-highest, nine points, etc.

" Of the 36 races, only the top 17 are counted in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie race.

" In order to be eligible for the Rookie of the Year award, a driver must attempt to qualify in at least eight events out of the first 20 events.

" Attempting to qualify for a race earns the rookies one bonus point, which is a bonus that is available for all 36 events.

" Bonus points are awarded for a finish in the top 10. A rookie who wins a race is awarded 10 points, second place gets nine and so on down the line with a 10th-place effort earning one point.

" Following the final race of the season, the highest-ranking rookie in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship receives 10 bonus points. The second-highest rookie earns nine points, third receives eight, etc.

" During the final weekend of the season, a Rookie of the Year panel meets and rewards favorable conduct in the following categories: Conduct with NASCAR officials in the garage and pit areas; conduct and awareness on track; personal appearance and relationship with the media. The panel rates each driver, with scoring ranging from a maximum of 10 to a minimum of 1. Total points will be averaged from each panel member's ballot. The points derived from the panel will be added to the entry, competition, and bonus points after the final race of the season to determine the overall Rookie of the Year winner.(NOTE: the bonus points do not seem to calculate out using this method and it is not explained)

Rookie Stripes

rookies will be noted on the car they drive by a yellow stripe on the rear bumper of the car.
sometimes a driver not up for the Rookie of the Year award may have yellow stripes on tracks they have not competed on in the past
or if NASCAR decides the driver doesn't have enough experience.

NOTES: the rule used to be that once a driver ran more then seven races in a season,
they were not eligible for Rookie of the Year,
but the rules changed when NASCAR required drivers to declare which series to accrue points for during the season.
So since Danica Patrick didn't run for Sprint Cup Series points in 2012, she can still run for rookie of the year in 2013.
Supposedly, Trevor Bayne, could run for rookie of the year in 2014 as he has never ran for Sprint Cup points
even thou he has won a Sprint Cup Series race, the 2011 Daytona 500

Current Season News and Notes

NASCAR Next Alumni Sweep Sunoco Rookie of the Year Awards: For the first time since the NASCAR Next initiative was created in 2011, three of its alumni captured the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Awards in NASCAR's national series. Kyle Larson took home the honor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Chase Elliott added the accolade to his resume in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Ben Kennedy earned the recognition competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
"The 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year class is a testament to the massive effort put towards developing our next generation of stars through the NASCAR Next initiative," said Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president of Industry Services. "We congratulate all three honorees and look forward to watching them accomplish great things in the future."
The winner of last season's NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award, Larson, 22, is only the sixth driver to also claim the honor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He defeated runner-up Austin Dillon by 88 points behind eight top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. A graduate of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity (D4D) program, Larson placed second in three races and won a Coors Light Pole Award. He pilots the #42 Target Chevrolet SS for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Elliott - 18 years, 11 months and 18 days - became the youngest and first rookie champion in NASCAR national series history when he captured the NASCAR Nationwide Series title. The #9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet driver won three races and ended his season on a streak of 14 top-10 finishes. A native of Dawsonville, Georgia, Elliott will return to the series next season to defend his title. He finished 47 points ahead of second-place Ty Dillon in the final NNS Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award standings.
Kennedy, 22, was the highest rookie finisher in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series-best eight races. Kennedy tied Tyler Reddick atop the rookie standings, winning the tiebreaker thanks to a final championship points position of ninth. Kennedy drove his #31 Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado to a career-best third-place finish at Martinsville in March.
"Sunoco has been a proud supporter of NASCAR's rising stars through the Sunoco Rookie of the Year program for the past decade," said Cynthia Archer, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Sunoco. "This year's award winners represent the youthful exuberance and competitive drive that define this award and we couldn't be more excited to see what the future holds as their careers advance."(NASCAR)(11-17-2014)

Talented Young Class of Drivers Headline Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award:- As the start of the 2014 race season approaches, NASCAR announced today the lineup of 2014 Contingency Program partners for all three national series, tallying a total of 24 companies participating in the program. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award will feature possibly the strongest rookie class across NASCAR's three national series since the inception of the award. Austin Dillon will attempt to become the first driver to ever win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in each of NASCAR's national series, having won the award in 2010 (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) and 2012 (NASCAR Nationwide Series), respectively. He will compete against a formidable group of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie contenders that includes Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Alex Bowman, Parker Kligerman, Kyle Larson, Ryan Truex and Cole Whitt.
Contenders for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the NASCAR Nationwide Series will feature a talented group of young drivers that includes Dakoda Armstrong, Tanner Berryhill, Chad Boat, Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott, Dylan Kwasniewski, Tommy Joe Martins, and Ryan Reed. Rounding out the 2014 rookie class in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be up-and-coming drivers Ben Kennedy, Mason Mingus, Tyler Reddick and Tyler Young.
(NASCAR)(2-22-2014)

Strong Sprint Cup Series Rookie class shaping up: The leading candidate for 2014 Sprint Cup Series looks to be #3-Austin Dillon, although relative stock-car newcomer #42-Kyle Larson is expected to be at the least his biggest challenger. #51-Justin Allgaier (not yet announced), #7-Michael Annett, Parker Kligerman, Cole Whitt (both at Swan Racing, two cars #30 and unknown #) and possibly #93-Alex Bowman (tested at Charlotte in a BK Racing Toyota) are will all be Cup rookies in 2014. This year's top rookie, two-time defending Nationwide Series champion #17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished 19th in the final Cup standings.(Sporting News)(12-15-2013)

ROOKIE of THE YEAR HISTORY

ROOKIE HISTORY

* Joey Logano won 2009 Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Logano captured top rookie honors 26 times in 36 races and officially claimed the honor by 33 points (270-237) over Scott Speed. At 19 years of age, Logano became the youngest driver to win Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

* Logano scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (race #17). The victory came in his 20th career start. He finished the season with one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes and placed 20th in the final series championship standings.

* Logano is the THIRD driver from Joe Gibbs Racing to win Rookie of the Year, joining Tony Stewart (1999) and Denny Hamlin (2006).

· Did You Know? Joey Logano is the most recent Rookie to win a Sprint Cup Series race, capturing the 2009 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway ahead of second-place Jeff Gordon (56 races ago).

· Did You Know? The most recent Rookie to win a pole position in the Sprint Cup Series is Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier captured the top starting spot for the 2008 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (92 races ago).

* Did You Know? The most recent Rookie to score a top-five finish is Logano, who placed third in the 2009 AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (41 races ago).

* Regan Smith (2008) became the first Rookie of the Year in the 52-year history of the program without a DNF (did not finish). He was running at the finish in all 34 starts he made and captured top rookie honors over Sam Hornish Jr. by just seven points (236-229).

· The 2008 season marked the first time in NASCAR's modern-era (since 1972) that THREE drivers shared the lead in the Rookie standings. After the second race of the season, Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti and Regan Smith were all tied at the top of the standings.

* Ryan Newman holds the all-time Rookie record for most poles (6), most top-fives (14) and most top-10s (22).

* Denny Hamlin is the only Rookie to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup since the program was created in 2004.

* The record for most earnings by a Rookie Hamlin holds the record for most earnings by a Rookie ($6.6 million in 2006).

* The record for most wins by a Rookie is THREE, shared by Tony Stewart (1999) and Jimmie Johnson (2002).

* More than one Rookie has posted victories during their first season only three times:
1981: Morgan Shepherd (one) and Ron Bouchard (one)
2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two) and Matt Kenseth (one)
2002: Jimmie Johnson (three) and Ryan Newman (one)

* The way to the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship is to win Rookie of the Year. Since 1979, six Rookie of the Year drivers have gone on to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup title: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Jeff Gordon (1993), Tony Stewart (1999, 2005) and Matt Kenseth (2000).

* The longest streak for a Rookie to be in the top-10 in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings during the sport's modern-era is 60 races (2001 MBNA Platinum 400 through 2002 Ford 400).(1-11-2011)

Logano first Rookie to win in 71 races: Rookie #20-Joey Logano rallied from a lap down and stretched his fuel mileage to perfection to win the rain shortened LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Logano scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in just his 20th start and his first in two starts at New Hampshire. He became the first Rookie [Keselowski is not a Rookie Candidate] to win in 71 races, dating back to Juan Pablo Montoya's victory at Infineon Raceway in 2007. He joined Ryan Newman (2002) as the only Rookies to win in 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire. He won in just his second start at New Hampshire and led the race just once, covering the final 10 laps. Logano leads Scott Speed by 31 points (199-168) in the overall Rookie standings. Logano scored his first top-five and fourth top-10 of the 2009 season.(PR)(6-29-2009)

NASCAR to implement rookie orientation program: NASCAR will implement a one-day rookie orientation seminar next February for newcomers to its three national touring series. The annual program will be designed for rookies and drivers 22 and under, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Wednesday. It will focus on NASCAR rules and policies as well as the adjustment to competing on the national stock-car circuit. "It's something we've been looking at for the last two or three years," Poston said. "We looked at what all the other leagues do, and one thing we realized is all the other leagues do this, and there seems to be a lot of benefit both for the league and their participants." The program will include University of Central Florida professor Dr. Richard Lapchick of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports to address professional and personal conduct and Aegis Laboratories' Dr. David Black to address the NASCAR substance-abuse policy. NASCAR Chairman Brian France also would be one of the presenters with other NASCAR executives, NASCAR's medical liaisons, series directors, veteran drivers and track operators. "We want to do this to touch base with drivers that are new to the national series and make sure that they have an opportunity at their very start to get face-to-face with NASCAR executives, to understand the sport and who we are," Poston said. "It's really to welcome to the national series, welcome them to the sport and also to answer any questions that they have." NASCAR has an 18-year-old age limit for its three national touring series and has toyed with the idea of increasing the age minimum for the Sprint Cup Series. Poston said that is still under consideration.(SceneDaily)(11-4-2009)

some Notes:
(NOT a 2002 candidate but won - Jamie McMurray (1) and ran and won ROTY in 2003)
(NOT a 2009 candidate but won - Brad Keselowski (1), didn't run for the award in 2009 or 2010)
(NOT a 2011 candidate but won - Trevor Bayne (1) and ran for ROTY in 2004)
race wins during rookie year in parens()
rest of rookie class listed if known

SOME ROTY NEWS and RECORDS

Rookies: #48-Jimmie Johnson tied Tony Stewart's rookie record for most wins by a Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year candidate with three in 2002. #12-Ryan Newman holds the rookie record [Modern Era 1972-present] of top fives, with 14, Hylton holds the all time record with 20. The top ten's record [Modern Era 1972-present] is held by Newman with 22, which is 10 below the all-time record of Hylton in 1966. Some comparisons (all were Rookie of the Year except Earnhardt Jr):

Some Rookie Stuff: Jamie McMurray is the 4th driver to pick up his 1st career Cup win at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the modern era (The others: 2000: Matt Kenseth; 1995: Bobby Labonte; 1994: Jeff Gordon). McMurray became the 3rd rookie to win this year, joining Jimmie Johnson & Ryan Newman. It marks the first time that 3 rookies have won a Cup race in the same season in the modern era [1972-present]. Of the 13 first-time winners since 2000, 7 of those have come on Bruton Smith (SMI Tracks). 2000: Dale Earnhardt Junior (Texas), Matt Kenseth (Charlotte), & Jerry Nadeau (Atlanta; 2001: Kevin Harvick (Atlanta), Elliott Sadler (Bristol); 2002: Kurt Busch (Bristol) & Jamie McMurray (Charlotte).(10-13-2002)

Quickest wins by a driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in only his 12th Cup start. Ron Bouchard won a Cup race in his 11th start in 1981 at Talladega, Mark Donohue won in his 5th Cup start in 1973 at Riverside, the earliest in the 'modern era' of Cup, he would only make one more Cup start. Others: Morgan Shepherd won in his 15th start (Martinsville) in 1981, but wasn't named Rookie of the Year. Several other drivers won in their first year, but weren't considered ROTY candidates: Dan Gurney at Riverside in 1963 in his third race and Mario Andretti at Daytona Beach in 1967 in his fifth start.BUT in 2001, #29-Kevin Harvick won his first Cup race in his third ever start, the best ever in the modern era [1972-present]. McMurray won in his 2nd start at Lowe's today which is the new Modern Era record and ties the all time record, set by John Rostek, who won in his 2nd career start in April 1960 at Arizona State Fairgrounds.ALSO of Note, Johnny Rutherford won a Daytona Qualifying race in his first start back in 1963, back then the Qualifier races counted as wins and the championship and points. And of course Jim Roper won in his first start, the first race ever held by NASCAR in 1949 and Jack White won in his first start in 1949, the 5th race of the season.(10-13-2002)

First time back-to-back - Correction: #48-Jimmie Johnson's victory comes a week after #12-Ryan Newman won, marking the first time in series history rookies have won back-to-back races.(News and Record), Actually in 2000 Dale Earnhardt Jr and Matt Kenseth won back-to-back points races, with Earnhardt Jr winning at Richmond and Kenseth winning at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May of 2000, the Winston was run between the two races, also won by a rookie, Dale Earnhardt Jr.(9-23-2002)

Earnhardt Jr the fastest Correction and UPDATE: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr has won his first two Winston Cup races faster then anyone in Winston Cup modern era. Earnhardt Jr won his 2nd race in his 16th start. Tony Stewart did it in his 32nd race, Dale Earnhardt in his 41st, Jeff Gordon 50th, Darrell Waltrip 65th and Bobby Labonte 77th. Not sure what the all time record is but Red Byron won his 2nd race in his 5th start during the first NASCAR Grand National(Before Winston Cup) season in 1949Correction: Davey Allison also won his 2nd race in his 16th start(5-7-2000)Harvick: #29-Kevin Harvick won his 2nd Cup race in his 17th start.UPDATE: add #48-Jimmie Johnson ties the record as he won his 2nd race in his 16th start.(6-2-2002)